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Apollo Global Management's fourth quarter profit surged as the asset management company recorded a double digit percentage jump in revenue, while assets under management climbed sharply.

Apollo, founded by prominent banker Leon Black as a private equity focussed firm, made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011 in a well received offering.

Revenue is traditionally sporadic at private equity firms due to a significant dependence on the timing and number of exits on portfolio companies.

However, people have lately been flocking to private equity stocks as the market broadly has pushed to multi-year highs. During the fourth quarter, Apollo funds sold stakes in LyondellBasell Industries and Charter Communications, which underwent bankruptcy reorganisations in recent years.

For the quarter, Apollo reported a profit of $171.5m, or $1.12 a Class A share, versus a year earlier profit of $10.9m, or 5 cents a Class A share.

Economic net income was $1.69 a share from 80 cents a year earlier. Private equity firms view economic net income as a better barometer of performance because it includes unrealised gains and employee compensation. The performance metric also accounts for all units, not just those that are publicly traded.

Revenue jumped 79% to $1.16bn.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast economic net income of $1.05 a share on $889m in revenue.

Carried interest income from affiliates, the largest top line contributor by far, was $2.13bn compared with a loss of $397.9m a year earlier. Management fees from affiliates rose 19%, while advisory and transaction fees from affiliates jumped 82%.

Assets under management were $113.4bn at the quarter's end, compared with $75.2bn a year earlier.

Compensation and benefits expense rose 8.9% to $598.6m.

Chief executive Leon Black noted that during the year, Apollo returned $11bn to its fund investors and generated $1.94 in cash distributions for shareholders.

"As we look to 2013 and beyond, we believe Apollo is well positioned to continue to pursue a range of alternative investment strategies and deliver strong returns to our investors," he said.

Apollo's results come a day after rival KKR reported its fourth-quarter profit surged as the private equity giant recorded stronger investment income, driven by a rise in dividend income and net gains from investments.